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DESCRIPTION OF THE 
DISMAL SWAMP 



Heartmaris Historical Series No. 38. 









DESCRIPTION 

OF THE 

DISMAL SWAMP 

AND A 

PROPOSAL 
TO DRAIN THE SWAMP 



By William Byrd of Westover 



EDITED BY 

EARL GREGG SWEM 

Librarian, College of William and Mary 



6 1 Copies Printed for 

Charles F. Heartman 

Metuchen, New Jersey 

Nineteen Hundred Twenty-two 






No of 61 Copies Printed. 

Also Five Copies Printed on Japan Paper. 



C 



- 



INTRODUCTORY NOTE 

The author of the "Description of the Dismal" is 
the well known William Byrd II, who was born 
March 28, 1674, and died Aug. 26, 1744. The 
life of William Byrd has been sketched so often that 
no repetition of the facts of his life will be attempted 
here. In John Spencer Bassett's "Writings of Colo- 
nel Byrd, New York, 1901," will be found an 
account of his life. 

The following three editions of his Writings have 
been published: 

The Westover Manuscripts; containing the His- 
tory of the Dividing Line betwixt Virginia and North 
Carolina; A Journey to the Land of Eden, A. D. 
1 733 ; and A Progress to the Mines. Written from 
1 728 to 1 736, and now first published, By William 
Byrd, of Westover. Petersburg, Printed by Ed- 
mund and Julian C. Ruffin, 1841. iv, 143 pages. 

History of the Dividing Line and other Tracts 
from the Papers of W. Byrd . . . Richmond, Va. 
1866. 2 v. (Historical Documents of the Old 
Dominion, nos. 2, 3). Contents; v. 1. History of 
the Dividing Line between Virginia and North 



Carolina ... in 1 728-29. v. 2. Journey to the 
Land of Eden, A. D. 1 733. A Progress to the 
Mines ... in 1 732. An Essay on bulk Tobacco. 
Miscellaneous Papers. 

The Writings of "Colonel William Byrd of Wes- 
tover in Virginia, Esq." Edited by John Spencer 
Bassett. Illustrated. New York, Doubleday, 
Page & Co., 1901. lxxxviii, 461 pages. 

It was through the enterprise of Edmund Rumn 
that the Westover Manuscripts were first given to the 
public, as the appendix to volume 9 of the Farmers' 
Register. This appendix was also issued separately, 
and is best known in the separate form; it is the 
first of the three editions listed. 

In the History of the Dividing Line is the journal 
of the survey of the North Carolina boundary through 
the Dismal Swamp. This was written in 1728. 
The "Description of the Dismal, with the Proposal 
to drain it," as reprinted in this present volume, was 
written sometime between 1728 and 1737. This is 
determined by the author's suggestion of the Earl of 
Orkney, who died in 1 737, as one who should be in- 
vited to encourage subscriptions to shares of the com- 
pany. The text of this reprint is from the Farmers' 
Register, volume 4, pages 521 to 524. This "De- 



8 



scription" has not been printed in any one of the 
editions of Byrd's Works. 

The attempt to drain the Dismal Swamp seems to 
have been abandoned by William Byrd, the author 
of this Description. The proposal was revived in 
1763, nineteen years after his death. On May 25, 
1 763, a petition for the Dismal Swamp in Norfolk 
was read and postponed. (Journal of the Executive 
Sessions of the Council, in Virginia Magazine of His- 
tory and Biography, v. 16, p. 148). At the Janu- 
ary, 1764, Session of the General Assembly, "An 
Act to enable certain Adventurers to drain a large 
Tract of Marshy Grounds in the Counties of Nan- 
simond and Norfolk" was passed. (Hening, v. 8, 
p. 19). This act did not grant any land to the 
company of adventurers, but it stipulated that "it shall 
and may be lawful for the said company of adven- 
turers, or any of them, at any time, to enter upon, and 
have such a free passage, and make such canals or 
causeways, through the lands of any person whatso- 
ever adjacent to the said Dismal Swamp, as may be 
conducive to the more effectual draining thereof, 
without being subject to the action or suit, of any 
such persons for the same." 

On March 27, 1922, the "Original Manuscript 
Surveys of Washington's Dismal Swamp Enter- 



prise" was sold at Auction in New York. As I 
have not seen this manuscript, I give the description 
printed in the catalog: 

The Original Surveys and Descriptions of Wash- 
ington's Real Estate Adventure in Great Dismal 
Swamp Lands, as drawn and prepared by Gershom 
Nimmo, the Surveyor. Occupying eight pages of 
surveys, descriptions, and drawings, on five folio 
sheets. Inlaid, and contained in a portfolio. 

(Dated) Norfolk, 1763 

Sheet 1, p. 1, bears the inscription: "To Coll. Fieldg. Lewis," 
and is endorsed: "Entries made in the Great Dismal Swamp. 
1763." 

Sheet 1, p. 2, is a "Memo, of Entries made in the Great Dis- 
mal, viz." — then follows a list of ten land entries made in the 
Swamp, between Sept. 29, 1760, and Oct. 20, 1763, by John Mer- 
cer, Jr.; Chas. Wilkins; Thos "Wright; Col. Robert Tucker, and 
others. Following these records is a statement beginning 
"Sir," and stating that the above lands (aggregating 5800 acres) 
have not yet been surveyed. All signed "Yr. Huml. Servt, 
Gershom Nimmo" (and dated) "Norfolk, Nov. 20th, 1763." 

Sheet 2, p. 1, is headed "Coll. Washington & Company," 
and is a detailed surveyor's description of the property. it 
commences: "Beginning at a point at the Mouth of Poison 
Swamp, running thence," and then embraces about 110 closely 
written surveyor's entries, delimiting the boundaries, and 
filling the whole page. 

Sheet 2, p. 2 ; contains a blank MS. legal document drawn 
up by Justice Henry Reddick, and has nothing to do with the 
land records. The sheet was convenient for the surveyor, and 
he used the other side of it. 

Sheet 3, p. 1, is headed: "A Survey made for the Dismal 
Swamp Compy. in the Great Dismal Swamp," etc. In 23 lines of 
narrative MS. it gives numerous details regarding boundaries: 
the lands of Mills Reddick; of Col. Lemuel Reddick; of Robt. 
Tucker; the location of Carberry's Mill; the Patented Lands, 







y 

the Company's Causeway and other allied information regard- 
ing a tract "containing 23,696 acres." 

Sheet 3, p. 2, contains the MS. description of the boundaries 
of a tract of 10,449 acres "along the Carolina line," and "along 
the said Causeway." It is accompanied by a quill-pen drawing 
showing the tract, Dismal Town j the Dismal Pond, and, the 
Causeway. 

Sheet 4, p. 1, is endorsed: "Part of Survey of D. Swamp." 
Sheet 4 ? p. 2, is occupied by a quill-pen drawing showing 
"Dismal Town," the Causeway for 6 miles; "Dismal Pond," 
the "Landing" at the Pond, and a Compass. The size of the 
Pond is given as "2 miles by 1%." 
Sheet 5, p. 1, is endorsed: "Survey of the Dismal Swamp." 
Sheet 5 (larger than the rest), p. 2, is occupied by a quill- 
pen surveyor's drawing, of the boundaries of the Company's 
tract, and locating "Rothery's Mill"; "Col. Tucker's Mill"; 
"Cooper's Mill"; "Col. L. Reddick's Mill"; "Dismal Town"; 
"Lake"; and "Causeway to Lake." 

Through the courtesy of Dr. Herbert Putnam, 
Librarian of Congress, I have received a descrip- 
tion of the manuscript material in the Library of 
Congress relating to Washington's connection with 
the project for draining the Dismal Swamp. This 
has been prepared by J. C. Fitzpatrick, assistant 
chief of the Division of Manuscripts. 

"The Washington Diary for 1763 contains nine 
pages of pencil notes about the Dismal Swamp. 
They are very dim and almost illegible. The diary 
for 1 764 contains nine pages of notes, in ink, which 
are a duplication of the pencil notes of 1763, but 
vary in particulars, and the pencil notes have some 
information not copied out in the ink notes of 1 764. 



11 



Hamilton's Letters to Washington (Colonial 
Dames Society, Boston, 1901), Volume 3, pages 
276 et. seq., groups the ledger entries of expenses 
connected with the Dismal Swamp, through the years 
1763-72. The original manuscript ledger is, of 
course, here. 

Washington's letter to John Jameson, 1 795, Feb- 
ruary 15, authorizes him to guard Washington's in- 
terests in the Dismal Swamp Company, and incloses 
an authority to represent Washington in the matter. 
Both of these are letter-press copies." See also in 
this connection Washington's letter to Patrick Henry, 
Governor of Virgnia, November 30, 1 785. (Spark's 
Writings of Washington, v. 12, p. 277, 278). 

We have references to this project in the two fol- 
lowing wills. The will of Anthony Bacon, dated 
May 13, 1785 (Virginia Magazine of History and 
Biography, v. 15, p. 183) leaves "To my half 
brother William Bacon £500 and all my estate in 
the Province of Virginia which I hold in partner- 
ship with sundry gentlemen called the Dismal 
Swamp, containing I suppose 30,000 acres." The 
will of Mrs. Mary Willing Byrd, who died in 1814, 
widow of William Byrd III, states "I give and be- 
queath to all my grandsons the interest I have in the 
Dismal Swamp to be equally divided between all." 



12 



(Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, v. 
6, p. 352). That work was begun in draining soon 
after the passage of the act is evident from the fact 
that Speaker John Robinson, who died May 6, 1 766, 
owned one share in the Dismal Swamp, and had some 
slaves employed in draining the same. (Virginia 
Magazine of History and Biography, v. 17, p. 319). 

In the January number, v. 4, no. 9, of the Far- 
mers' Register, the editor, Edmund Rumn, published 
his "Observations made during an Excursion to the 
Dismal Swamp [in 1836]." The "Observations" 
by Ruffin precede immediately in the same volume 
the "Description" by Byrd. 

Acknowledgment is made of the generous assist- 
ance given by Miss Ethel Nolin, of the Virginia 
State Library. E< G SWEM# 

College of William and Mary. 



13 



PROPOSAL TO DRAIN THE 
DISMAL SWAMP 

By William Byrd of Westover 

It was after the preceding article on the Dismal 
Swamp had been written, and was partly in type, 
that we received and for the first time saw the manu- 
script from which the following article is printed, 
and also the full and minute journal of Col. Byrd, of 
the survey of the line between Virginia and North 
Carolina, which he superintended as one of the 
Commissioners of the Colony of Virginia. For the 
use of this antique paper, we are indebted to the 
owner, George E. Harrison, Esq., of Brandon, and 
also for the original journal of his distinguished ances- 
tor. This proposal, was founded on the information 
obtained by the survey, and recorded more fully in 
the journal — and upon these grounds and suggestions 
it is probable that the present Land Company was 
formed at a subsequent period, and in which Col. 
Byrd, or his son, was a partner, and his shares are 
still held by some of his descendants. 

The journal, written in 1 728, is interesting not only 



14 



for its antiquity, but for the early views, and then 
supposed facts, which it presents. In our next No. 
will probably be inserted the portion of the journal 
embracing the passage, probably the earliest made 
by man, of the Dismal Swamp. 

The account of Col. Byrd given here, and in his 
journal, is erroneous as to several particulars which 
rested then merely on report, and therefore could 
not be more correctly known by him. For example, 
as to the supposed pestilential effects of the air — the 
total absence of animals — and as to the general width 
of the swamp, which he greatly underrated. It will 
be also observed, both from this piece and still more 
from his journal, that there was then no suspicion of 
the existence of the lake; and yet according to the 
maps of highest authority, its southern margin is with- 
in less than a mile of the State line, which was so long 
in being traced and marked by the surveying party 
which Col. Byrd in part directed and superintended. 

The manuscript, in our charge, is the original, in 
the handwriting of the author — and though time- 
worn, and requiring much care to handle without in- 
jury, is perfectly legible. It is here copied literally. x 



1. Here ends the introductory note by Edward Ruffin. 



15 



A DESCRIPTION OF THE DISMAL 

The Dismal is a very large swamp or bogg, ex- 
tending from north to south near 30 miles in length, 
and in breadth, from east to west, at a medium about 
ten miles. It lyes partly in Virginia, and partly in 
North Carolina. No less than 5 navigable rivers, 
besides creeks, rise out of it, whereof 2 run into 
Virginia, viz. the South Branch of Elizabeth, and the 
South Branch of Nansimond Rivers — and 3 into 
North Carolina, namely, North River, North-west 
River, and Perquimonds. All these hide their 
heads, properly speaking, in the Dismal, there being 
no signs of them above ground. For this reason 
there must be plentiful subterranean stores of water 
to feed so many rivers or else the soil is so replete 
with this element, draind from the higher land that 
surrounds it, that it can abundantly afford these sup- 
plys. This is most probable — because the ground 
of this swamp is a meer quagmire, trembling under 
the feet of those that walk upon it, and every impres- 
sion is instantly filled with water. We could run a 
long stick up to the head without resistance — and 
wherever a fire was made, so soon as the crust of 



17 



leaves and trash burnt through, the coals sunk down 
into a hole, and were extinguisht. The skirts of the 
Dismal towards the east were overgrown with reeds 
ten or 1 2 feet high, interlaced everywhere with strong 
bamboe-bryers, in which the men's feet were perpet- 
ually intangled. Among these, grows here and there 
a cypress, or a white cedar, which last is common!}' 
mistaken for the juniper. Towards the south end of 
it, is a very large tract of reeds, without any trees at 
all growing amongst them, which being constantly 
green, and waving in the wind, is called the Green 
Sea. In many parts, especially on the borders, grows 
an evergreen shrub very plentifully, that goes by the 
name of a gall-bush. It bears a berry which dyes a 
black colour, like the gall of an oak, from whence it 
borrows its name. Near the middle of the Dismal the 
trees grow much thicker — the cypresses as well as the 
cedars. These being always green, and loaded 
with very large tops, are much exposed to the 
winds, and easily blown dowfri in this boggy place 
where the soil is soft, and consequently affords but 
slender hold for the roots, that shoot into it. By 
these the passage is in most places interrupted, they ly- 
ing piled in heaps, and horsing on one another; nor is 
this all, for the snags left upon them point every way, 
and require the utmost caution to clamber over them. 



18 



'Tis remarquable that, towards the heart of this horri- 
ble desart, no beast or bird approaches, nor so much 
as an insect or a reptile. This must happen, not so 
much from the moisture of the soil, as from the ever- 
lasting shade occationd by the thick shrubbs and 
bushes, so that the friendly beams of the sun can never 
penetrate them to warm the earth. Nor indeed do 
any birds care to fly over it, any more than they are 
said to do over the lake Avernus, for fear of the noi- 
some exhalations that rise from this vast body of dirt 
and nastiness. These noxious vapours infect the air 
round about, giving agues and other distempers to the 
neighboring inhabitants. On the western border of 
the Dismal, is a pine swamp above a mile in breadth, 
great part of which is covered with water knee- 
deep; however, the bottom is firm, and though the 
pines growing upon it are very tall, yet are they not 
easily blown down by the wind. So that the people 
waded through part of it, without any other hindrance 
but what the depth of water gave them, With all 
these disadvantages the Dismal is in many places 
pleasant to the eye, though disagreeable to the other 
sences, because of the perpetual verdure, which 
makes every season look like the spring, and every 
month like May. This dreadful swamp was ever 
judgd impassable, 'til the line divideing Virginia 



from North Carolina was carryd through it in the 
year 1728, by the order of his late majesty. Nor 
would it have been practicable then, but by the bene- 
fit of an exceeding dry season, as well as by the in- 
vincible vigor and industry of those that undertook it. 
Some of the neighbors have lost themselves here for 
some days, but never had either the courage or 
curiosity to advance very far. Nor can the difficul- 
tys of passing 1 this inhospitable place be better con- 
ceivd, than by the long time that was spent in doing 
it, even by men who were not altogether without ap- 
prehentions of being starved — they being no less than 
ten whole days in pushing on the line 1 5 miles, tho' 
they proceeded with all possible diligence and reso- 
lution, and besides, had no disaster to retard them. 



20 



ADVANTAGES OF DRAINING 
THE DISMAL 

The foregoing being a true and faithful account 
of the present condition of the Dismal, if any way 
could be found to drain it, the benefits both to his 
majesty and these colony s, would be very con- 
siderable. 

1 . First, that vast extent of bogg, which is now of 
no value to the crown, nor ever can be, in the condition 
it lyes at present, will come in time to pay the same 
quit-rent that other lands pay in this colony, and em- 
ploy a great number of people. 

2. By draining the Dismal, it will make all the 
adjacent country much more wholesome, and con- 
sequently, preserve the lives of many of the king's sub- 
jects ; this will happen by correcting and purifying the 
air, which is now infected by the malignant vapours 
rising continually from that large tract of mire and 
filthiness. 

3. After the Dismal comes to be drained, it will 
be the fittest soil in the world for producing of hemp ; 
the propagating of which, is with so much reason de- 



21 



sired and encouraged in his majesty's plantations. 
Besides, the hemp made in this place will have the 
advantage of being nearer to navigation than it can 
commonly be in this colony. 

4. As the Dismal must be draind by the help of 
canals, to be cut from the northern to the southern 
rivers, there will be a safe and easy communication, 
by water, betwixt Virginia and North Carolina, to 
the manifest advantage of both. Virginia will 
have the benefit of being the port and public mart, to 
which the inhabitants of North Carolina must bring 
their commoditys; and these, again, will have the 
convenience of shipping the effects of their industry 
and receiving their returns from Great Britain, in good 
ships — there being no inlets into the hither part of that 
province, but what are dangerous even to the small 
vessels that can enter them. 



22 



CONDITIONS OF DRAINING 
THE DISMAL 

The Dismal then being so utterly useless to the 
crown, and such a nusance to the neighboring coun- 
try, and the advantages of draining it being so many, 
there remains no difficulty but to find out a method 
of doing it without leading his majesty into an ex- 
pence, or laying a burthen on the people; and I 
humbly conceive that neither of these objections 
can be raised against the following scheme. 

It is therefore proposed that his majesty be gracious- 
ly pleasd to grant the Dismal, and all the land not 
yet taken up, lying within half a mile of any part 
of it, to the petitioners hereafter named ; and the bet- 
ter to encourage them to undergo the heavy charge, 
of draining it, 'tis farther proposed, that the said 
petitioners may have such grant, free from rights, 
and be also exempt from paying any quit-rent for 
the space of 50 years, except one pound of hemp 
yearly, on St. George's day. 

It is also proposed, that all the persons employed 
in draining the said Dismal shall be excused from 



23 



paying any levys for the space of ten years after 
the date of said grant. 

Nor can it fairly be objected, that such exemption 
from rights and quit-rents will be any loss to the 
crown, because nobody will ever take up any land 
in the Dismal, but with intent to drain it — and the 
expense of that will be too great to undertake it 
without this encouragement at least. Wherefore, 
since the king can get nothing for it as it now is, 
it would be more to his majesty's interest to grant it 
on the prospect of a future advantage, than to let it 
lye wast, and continue a nuisance to perpetuity. Nor 
would the country be a looser by indulging the 
undertakers of this great work with a freedom from 
levys, because of the advantages that would happen 
to it from their industry — and because most of the 
hands employed therein, will be imported on pur- 
pose to carry on this laudable design, and conse- 
quently woud never pay any levys without it. 

And to remove all suspicion of fraud, it is like- 
wise proposed that a condition be inserted in the royal 
grant, that in case the petitioners shall not drain the 
said Dismal in the space of ten years, they shall 
then be obliged to pay all arrears of quit-rent from the 
date of the said grant, together with a full value of 
the rights which ought otherwise to have been payed 



24 



down in the beginning, proportionably to the quantity 
of land so granted. The petitioners humbly relying 
on his majesty's goodness, to indulge them a longer 
time in case unforseen difficulty should require it. 
[This paragraph, in the manuscript, is marked across, 
by a single stroke of the pen. — Ed. of Farmers' 
Register.] 



25 



PROPOSALS FOR DRAINING 
THE DISMAL 

If this great undertaking be managed prudently, 
it may be completed in the forementioned time of 
ten years, for the summ of four thousand pound 
sterling, and perhaps for a great deal less. 

It is therefore proposed, that this sum be divided 
into 20 shares, and that they to be subscribed by as 
few persons as possible. That the Earl of Orkney, 
Sir Charles Wager, Sir Jacob Acworth, and Col. 
Bladen be invited to encourage this subscription, be- 
ing well wishers to these colonys, as well as to the 
propagateing of hemp in his majesty's plantations, 
and the rather because their credit may be necessary in 
obtaining the royal grant. So soon as such grant shall 
be obtained, the first step ought to be to procure a man 
that perfectly understands draining of land, at a 
moderate salary, and while that is transacting in 
England, the whole tract should be exactly surveyd 
here, and the levil of it tryd. After that, a proper 
piece of land should be chosen on the skirts of the 
Dismal, whereon to make the first settlement. Suffi- 



26 



cient land may be found out there that may be laid 
dry by a trench only, and with that improvement 
done, produce hemp and rice, as well as Indian corn. 

The next advance must be to build convenient 
houses to receive the people necessary to be employd 
in the beginning, and to provide the proper tools, 
bedding, cloaths, and provisions for them. When 
these are all ready, let 10 seasoned negroes be pur- 
chased, of both sexes, that their breed may supply the 
loss. Let these be employd in clearing and in trench- 
ing the ground, in makeing of corn and other requisite 
improvements. 

In the mean time, a moderate stock of cattle 
should be provided, which will winter on the edges 
of the Dismal with very little dry feeding. 

It may be proper to teach two or more of your 
negro men to saw, make shingles, burn tar, draw clap- 
boards, and set up tight casks, that so all the timber 
cut down to clear the ground may be turnd to the best 
advantage. And the money to be raisd from all 
these improvements will help to defray the expences 
of the first settlement, and in some measure enable 

the work to carry on itself; that so the money 
remaining in bank may be reservd for the purchase of 
negros, as fast as room can be made for them, and 



27 



your work shall need a greater number of hands 
to carry it on with vigour. 

When you have thus got a firm footing, a near 
computation may be made what increase of strength 
will be wanting the second year — remembering to 
purchase no more negros than you have made pro- 
vision for, and there is no doubt in the world, but by 
the time the whole money is* expended, the Dismal 
will be made as good land as any in the country, 
with at least 300 negros working upon it, and 
stockt with an incredible number of cattle. From all 
which we may safely conclude, that each share will 
then be worth more than ten times the value of the 
original subscription, besides the unspeakable benent 
it will prove to the publick. 



28 



AN ESTIMATE OF THE 
FIRST EXPENSE 

To the building a quarter, barn, and 

house for an overseer, £ 60 00 

To the purchase of 10 seasond negros, 

half men, half women, 300 00 

To cloaths, bedding, tools, and provi- 
' sions for the first year, 40 00 

To 20 cows and calves, 9 steers, one 

bull, and a horse, 50 00 

To the wages of an overseer, and his 

provisions, 25 00 

To accidents and charges unforeseen, 25 00 

To soliciting the grant in England, 50 00 

To surveying the Dismal, and the ex- 
pence of the patent here, 50 00 



£600 00 



To 20 negros the 2d year 400 00 

To 25 negros the 3d year 500 00 

To 25 negros the 4th year 500 00 

To 25 negros the 5th year 500 00 



29 



To 25 negros the 6th year 500 00 

To 25 negros the 7th year 500 00 

To 25 negros the 8th year 500 00 



£4000 00 



The foregoing account shows only how many 
negros may be purchased for £4000, being the 
summ subscribed, to be employd in the Dismal; but 
besides that mony, there is no question but the 
profits ariseing from the labour of the negros on the 
land, which will every year be laid dry, will be 
very considerable — insomuch that it will not only 
defray all incident charges, but also purchase many 
more people to finish this great work. And for 
those which happen to dye, 'tis probable that their 
place will be fully supplyd by their children, if 
care be taken to buy as many women as men. And 
because it will be some years before such children 
grow up to a stature fit to work, it will be prudent 
to lay out part of the money in boys and girls, which 
will not only season better than men and women, but 
will be very soon fit for labour, and supply the 
mortality that must happen among so great a number. 
Besides the advantages of propagation, there is 
another benefit in provideing wives for the men: it 
will keep them at home, and prevent their rambling 



30 



abroad anights, from which arise many great in- 
conveniences. By this practice they learn to be 
dishonest, take cold, and lose their rest, whereby 
they are less fit to do their wjork the following 
days. Besides, when they have wives in other 
familys, they are frequently poisoned by the jealousy 
of their rivals, who think they have a much better 
right to the affections of their fellow servants, than 
any stranger. By this many lose their lives. 

(Copy of Petition annexed.) 

To the King's most Excellent Majesty, 

The petition of 

Humbly sheweth: 

That whereas there is a large bogg, situated 
partly in Virginia, and partly in North Carolina, 
which lyes wast by reason of the mire and water 
with which it is covered, and corrupts the air of all 
the neighboring country by the noxious vapours 
that perpetually ascend from it, to the great annoy- 
ance of your majesty's subjects: and whereas, many 
considerable advantages woud arise, both to your 
majesty and those colonys, from the effectual drain- 
ing of it, which cannot be performed without a very 
great labour and expence — 



31 



Your petitioners therefore humbly pray, that your 
majesty will be graciously pleasd to grant to your 
petitioners the said bogg, and all the land not yet 
taken up, lying within half a mile of any part of it: 
and the better to enable them to support the heavy 
charge of draining it, your petitioners further pray, 
that your majesty will please to grant them the said 
bogg, free from rights, and also exempt them from 
paying any quit-rent for the space of 50 years, ex- 
cept one pound of hemp to be paid yearly. 

And your petitioners shall ever pray, etc. 



32 




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